Marvel Developing Moon Knight Netflix Series?

Marvel and Netflix’s first project together, Daredevil, was an enormous success. It’s regularly praised by fans and critics as being one of the top live-action comic book shows around, and it surprised many with its especially dark tone – something not many viewers expected to see from the sometimes quip-heavy Marvel Cinematic Universe. Season 2 of Daredevil is currently under production – at the time of writing this – and it’s going to introduce brand new incarnations of two fan-favorite Marvel anti-heroes: Frank Castle, a.k.a. Punisher (Jon Bernthal), and Elektra Natchios (Elodie Yung).

As Daredevil pulls in more familiar street level faces, the next Marvel/Netflix project, Jessica Jones, will introduce even more Marvel characters: Luke Cage (Mike Colter), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Nuke (Wil Traval), and several others. Given the quality of Daredevil’s first season and the praise Jessica Jones’ first episode received at New York Comic-Con 2015, it’s understandable that many fans are left thinking one thing: Who else is Marvel going to bring to Netflix? Moon Knight‘s name keeps popping up, and according to one rumor, his appearance could be on the way.

While speaking on Collider Heroes, Heroic Hollywood’s Umberto Gonzalez stated that Marc Spector, a.k.a. Moon Knight, may receive the same treatment as Punisher, the violent vigilante who’s making his live-action debut in Daredevil Season 2. According to him, the rumor is that Moon Knight would make an appearance in someone else’s show, and that could lead to receiving his very own show. Gonzalez claimed Moon Knight’s parallels to DC’s Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. Batman, is important:

“It’s interesting you bring up Moon Knight because that’s not actually being developed for film. The heroic hot rumor is that Moon Knight is actually being developed for Netflix since he is their version of Bruce Wayne. Like the way they’re backdoor piloting Punisher, making an appearance in Daredevil Season 2, if it works out, boom. Same thing with Moon Knight. Again, he’s their version of Bruce Wayne. It’s one of the staples that they’re developing for their Netflix strategy. I’d rather see the Netflix version of Moon Knight than the cinematic one.”

Moon Knight being adapted for Netflix instead of the big screen makes sense because it would be a much better fit for the sometimes brutal character. Netflix allows for more violence and darker content, and those are two things that have been included in a number of Moon Knight’s stories – especially the 2006 comic series, which has the potential to feel like an organic addition to the small screen version of the MCU. Given his origin story and the way he uses multiple personalities (which fluctuates from writer to writer), having the chance to tell his story over several hour-long episodes instead of just an hour and a half or so would also give viewers a better opportunity to connect, properly understand, and even appreciate the anti-hero.

Gonzalez points out there are similarities between Moon Knight and Batman (e.g. they’re both wealthy costumed vigilantes who beat up bad guys via melee combat and throwing weapons), but there are several differences too. Batman’s more skilled, whereas Moon Knight’s more savage. Batman inherited his wealth, Moon Knight earned it through being a mercenary. Batman regularly uses stealth, Moon Knight wants his enemies to see him coming (at least twice he’s stated that’s why he wears white). Their origins are significantly different, as are the reasons they fight criminals and how they conduct their investigations. Batman has a great rogues gallery, Moon Knight has… well, Marvel will have to work on that, because that’s not one of the character’s strengths. That said, using Bushman, a foe connected to Moon Knight’s origin, would make the most sense for a first season.

Moon Knight draws parallels to Batman, but he is not Batman. Getting to know the character over the course of several episodes, instead of just one visit to theaters, would give Marvel the chance to prove this (while also continuing to expand their street level roster). Now, if Moon Knight is introduced in a show, that brings up one question: Which show would they use to test his appeal? Moon Knight has some history working with Daredevil, but at this point, it seems like he may be reserved for another project – if he even appears at all, that is. After The Defenders, Netflix and Marvel could use the new vigilantes to create a Marvel Knights series, but obviously, that’s purely speculative at this point.

Daredevil Season 1 is currently available on Netflix. Jessica Jones will be available starting November 20th, 2015, followed by Luke Cage Season 1 and Daredevil Season 2 in 2016. Iron Fist and The Defenders will arrive sometime thereafter.